Rein and hitching-strap holder



ZSZZK flaw Patented May 2, I899.

izzyezz%rx T LEE REIN AND HITGHING STRAP HOLDER. (Application filed.Mar. 81, 188B.)

(No Model.)

Y cams mans ca. Pnorp qmm wnsumatou n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TURNER LEE, OF TAMPIOO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN H. LEE, OF

CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,226, dated May 2,1899. Application, filed March 31, 1898. Serial No. 676,899. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TURNER LEE, a citizen of the United States, residingat Tampico, in the county of Whiteside and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Line and Lead-Strap HarnessAttachments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of an improved l-ine and lead-strap holderadapted for attachment to the saddle of a harness preferably by means ofa perforated shank,

through which the threaded shank of the terret.or line-rin g is passedto clamp the device to the pad-tree and serving as a substitute for theline-ring so far as the function of doing up the line or lead-strap isconcerned.

The purpose of my invention is twofoldfirst, to provide acombined lineand leadstrap holder in the form of a spring-metal attachment whichshall be handy and efficient in use, and, second, to provide for theready attachment of the device to the saddles of different makes ofharness.

Generally stated, the invention comprises a spring-metal hook shapeddevice having a shank which extends downwardly parallel to theharness-pad, upon which it lies and to which it is secured, preferably,in the manner stated, and an out and up turned hook portion carried bythe lower end of said shank, which extends near to the upper end of theshank to form therewith a strap-receiving channel, said hook portionbeing provided with means for engaging either a lead-strap or foldedline, or both, at pleasure.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of aharness saddle equipped with my improved holder; Figs. 2 and 3, plan andside views, respectively, of the holder in its preferred form; and Fig.4, a side view of the device in a modified form.

A represents the holder; B,the harness-pad; O, the pad-tree; D, theterret or line-ring, and E the tug-strap.

The device is preferably formed from colddrawn steel wire tempered inthe process of drawing. When so formed, it comprises, preferably,aperforated head or ring A, a downwardly-extending shank A affording aback portion, and an out and up turned tongue or hook portion A A wirelength is'bent between its ends to form the loop A, the members beingextended parallel to each other to form the partt of the shank, thenoutwardly, downwardly, and inwardly to form the rectan gular loop 25,thence again parallel and together to form a bearing or stop 15 for thetongue. thence outwardly and downwardly to form the lower part 15 of theshank, thence coiled rearwardly and inwardly to form the spirals 25 tand thence extended forwardly from the tops of the coils and parallel toeach other to form the base 8 of the tongue, which projects slightly infront of the shank and between the wires thereof. The two wire membersbeing now together are bent upwardly to form the slightly-inclinedlead-strap-engaging portion 8, thence half outward to form the incline sthence upwardly and slightly in to form the line-en gaging portion 3thence half inward to form theincline s and thence in a curve and halfoutward to form the inclined hook or tongue end 3 where the wire endsare secured'together bya cap-piece or in any other suitable manner.

The loop A is by preference at an angle to the shank A in order that thedevice maybe held tightly to the back-band under the resilience of thespring when the head is clamped between the flange r of the terret andthe padtree, which is the simple and effective way of securing thedevice in place. Of course the same purpose is answered if some part ofthe device, as the coil at the base, is caused to bear closely againstthe saddle before the terret has been turned completely in. The shankmay be curved, if desired, to follow the contour of the saddle. Thecurved end of the tongue drops slightly into the loop 15 before strikingon the portion t of the shank, thereby insuring its being properlycentered when closed.

An equivalent though perhaps more costly construction is to bend thewire length upon itself to first form the tongue portion of the deviceand then to form the coils and shank, finally welding the ends of thewire together at the terret-receiving loop. In the end the several partsof the device occupy the same relative position regardless of whichmethod is followed in the manufacture.

The manner of use is as follows: The device is fastened to the saddle ofthe harness by the simple removal and reinsertion of the terret, itsthreaded shank passing through the loop A and its flange r clamping thehead tightly to the pad-tree. To do up the lead-strap, it is necessaryonly to present the edge thereof to the channel 13, afforded between thetop part of the tongue and the shank, and draw'down upon both sides ofthe tongue, when the strap slips readily into engagement with theportion 5 of the tongue, being firmly clamped thereby to the shank. Todo up the line, it is first folded and similarly drawn into the spacebetween the portion .9 of the tongue and the shank, where it is firmlyclamped. If desired, the device may be made to hold both the line andleadstrap at the same time. To undo either the line or Iead-strap,.thestrap is pressed directly toward the base of the terret and is readilydisengaged from the device without any violent strain being made uponthe device itself.

In Fig. 4 is shown amodified form of the holder made from flat steel. Inthis form the essential features of my invention are preserved; but inthis case the tongue A becomes a double member, being provided at itsupper end with an inturned downwardlyprojecting member A, which isprovided with the strap-engaging surfaces. Here the coil t becomes asimple loop, and for obvious reasons it is desirable to form the springfrom untempered steel, which is afterward tempered. Obviously the tonguemay be given the same form in this construction as in Figs. 1 to 3; butin such case the increased resilience of the double-member tongue beinglacking it would be very difficult to obtain a ready-tempered steelwhich would answer the purpose, and to use the untempered metalnecessitates skilled labor with increased cost of production.

While one of the important features of my invention lies in thesimplicity of its attachment, yet it is to be understood that the deviceis for the purpose of some of the claims not to be limited to this modeof attachment. By the expression out and up turned as referring to thetongue of the spring I mean to cover all the forms shown,notwithstanding the fact that in the preferred construction the spiralsat the base are formed by screws or rivets on the back-band, which wouldinterfere were not this precaution taken.

Springs constructed asabove described may be made ornamental byjapanning, nickeling, or galvanizing. They are cheaply produced, readilyapplied, and efiective in use, enabling a very material saving of timein unhitching.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Astrap-holderattachmentforharnesses, formed from a single length ofwire, and comprising a terret-receiving perforated head A, adownwardly-extending shank A provided with a loop t and a tongue-bearing25 formed by bending or stamping the shank-wires together, pad-en gagingcoils t 5 below the plane of the shank-wires, and an upwardly-extendingclampingly-acting tongue provided with a strap-engaging portion and acurved upper end resting upon said tongue-bearingand projecting slightlyinto the loop 25" whereby the tongue is properly centered, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

2. A combined line and lead-strap holder, comprising adownwardly-extending shank provided with means for attaching it to theharness, and an upwardly-extending tongue held close to said shank bythe resilience of the metal, said tongue being provided with aline-engaging part at sufficient distance from the shank to permit theinsertion of several thicknesses of line, and beneath said line-engagingpart and in a plane closer to the shank, with a lead-strap-engagin gpart, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A line and lead-strap holder, comprising a terret-shank-receivingloop, adownwardlyextending shank provided with a tongue-bearing, and aresilient out and up turned clampingly-acting tongue having an outturnedend, said holder being formed from a wire length bent near its center toform said loop, the members thence extending downward to form saidshank, the shank-wires being bent together to form said bearing, thewires being then separated to form the lower part of the shank, thencoiled rearwardly and inwardly and caused to project in front of theshank, then. turned upwardly to form the tongue and theclamping-surfaces s and 5 thereof, and finally having the wire endsfastened together and outcurved to form the tongue end, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

TURNER LEE.

In presence of DAN. W. LEE, RICHARD T. SPENCER.

